January 29, 2017

A global backlash against US President Donald Trump’s immigration curbs is gathering pace as several countries including long-standing American allies criticize the measures as discriminatory and divisive.

On Sunday governments from London and Berlin to Jakarta and Tehran spoke out against Trump’s order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries, which he said would help protect Americans from terrorism.

In Germany - which has taken in large numbers of people fleeing the Syrian civil war - Chancellor Angela Merkel said the global fight against terrorism was no excuse for the measures and "does not justify putting people of a specific background or faith under general suspicion", her spokesman said.

She expressed her concerns to Trump during a phone call and reminded him that the Geneva Conventions require the international community to take in war refugees on humanitarian grounds, the spokesman added.

Merkel's sentiments were echoed in Paris and London; "Terrorism knows no nationality. Discrimination is no response," said French Foreign minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, while his British counterpart Boris Johnson tweeted: "Divisive and wrong to stigmatise because of nationality".

Along with Syria, the US ban affects travelers with passports from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Trump said his order, which indefinitely bans refugees from Syria, was "not a Muslim ban", though he added he would seek to prioritise Christian refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

Washington's Arab allies, including the Gulf states and Egypt, were mostly silent.

The government in Iraq, which is allied with Washington in the battle against ultra-hardline Islamist group Islamic State and hosts over 5000 US troops, also did not comment on the executive order.

But some members of the parliament said Iraq should retaliate with similar measures against the United States.

In Baghdad, influential Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr said American nationals should leave Iraq, in retaliation for the travel curbs.

There was no immediate reaction to the curbs from Islamic State, although in the past it has used US monitoring of Muslim foreigners to stoke Muslim anger against Washington.

The Tehran government vowed to respond in kind to the US ban on visitors from Iran, but on Sunday Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that Americans who already hold Iranian visas can enter the country.

In Jakarta, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the Muslim-majority nation deeply regretted Trump's plans for "extreme vetting" of people from some Muslim countries.

The Danish, Swedish and Norwegian governments all registered their opposition, with Danish foreign minister Anders Samuelsen tweeting: “The US decision not to allow entry of people from certain countries is NOT fair."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country welcomed those fleeing war and persecution, even as Canadian airlines said they would turn back US-bound passengers to comply with an immigration ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Maher Chmaytelli and Lin NoueihedReuters
JERUSALEM — On Saturday evening, Israel's prime minister tweeted his praise of President Trump's decision to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

“President Trump is right,” Netanyahu wrote. “I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea.” He accompanied the tweet with emoji flags of Israel and the United States.

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justices John Roberts, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan argue legal and social points in a case challenging a federal law defining marriage as a heterosexual union. President Barack Obama's administration joined a New York widow in urging the court to strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA. (Audio excerpts via Supre

Senators Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Bill Nelson of Florida issued statements reversing their earlier opposition and endorsing same-sex marriage. That puts 53 senators on record in favor of extending marriage to couples of the same sex, including Republicans Mark Kirk ofIllinois and Rob Portman of Ohio.

“This tidal wave of support for marriage equality in Congress reflects what we’re seeing happening in the lives of everyday Americans around the country,” said Michael Cole- Schwartz, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group for gay and lesbian rights. “People understand there’s no reason to treat gay and lesbian couples differently than anyone else and it’s crystal clear that the country is ready.”

Four members of the Senate Democratic caucus -- Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Mark Pryor of Arkansas -- remain in the opposition camp. Landrieu and Pryor face re-election in 2014. Johnson is retiring at the end of his current term in 2015.

Advocates said momentum has been building since PresidentBarack Obama and the Democratic Party platform backed same-sex marriage, as did voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington in November. A March poll by Hamden, Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University showed U.S. voters backing same-sex marriage, 47 percent to 43 percent, a reversal from its July 2008 survey in which 55 percent were opposed and 36 percent were in favor.

Court Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court last month heard challenges to a California referendum that outlawed same-sex marriage and the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents the federal government from providing benefits to married couples of the same sex. A ruling is likely by June.

“The country is on an evolution on this issue as are all of our elected leaders,” Cole-Schwartz said. “Over time, as people continue to think about this, and as public opinion continues to go in our favor, you’re going to see members change.”

Heitkamp’s statement said she concluded that the federal government “should no longer discriminate against people who want to make lifelong, loving commitments to each other or interfere in personal, private and intimate relationships.” She said she considered “the ability of anyone to marry as a logical extension of this belief.”

Civil Rights

Nelson’s statement, sent to the Tampa Bay Times, said: “The civil rights and responsibilities for one must pertain to all. Thus, to discriminate against one class and not another is wrong for me. If we are endowed by our creator with rights, then why shouldn’t those be attainable by gays and lesbians?”

Donnelly said he had been rethinking his previous votes and positions. “In doing so, I have concluded that the right thing to do is to support marriage equality for all,” his statement said. “We are a stronger country when we draw on the strengths of all Americans.”

Two of the three senators, Heitkamp and Donnelly, represent states that Obama lost last fall.

“Red-state Democrats now see that this is not just a morally right place to be but a politically smart place to be,” said Marc Solomon, national campaign director for New York-based Freedom to Marry.

Pressuring Holdouts

Supporters of same-sex marriage are calling and writing to the legislative offices of holdouts. The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign has modified its congressional scorecard to include a lawmaker’s position same-sex marriage in addition to his or her votes on other issues of concern to gays and lesbians.

Solomon said that gay and lesbian couples are trying to tell their stories directly to lawmakers and their aides, and through media coverage of unsuccessful efforts to get marriage licenses at county clerks’ offices.

“Our approach is to continue to make our case through the telling of stories of loving and committed couples,” he said.

January 31, 2013

Lesbian protestors staged a "kiss in" in front of the Duma in Moscow before anti-LGBT protesters attacked.Photo: Igor-Tabakov/Moscow Times

Russian legislators in the Duma, the lower house of Parliament, voted 388-1 in favor of the so-called Anti-Homosexual Propaganda bill at a first reading January 25.

One legislature abstained and another 60 members of the 450 Duma deputies refused to vote, according to multiple media reports.

The bill, introduced by regional lawmakers from the Novosibirsk Region Legislative Assembly last March, proposes to ban promotion of LGBT materials and public gatherings and stipulates so-called gay propaganda as an administrative offense with fines ranging from $170 for individuals up to $16,000 for legal entities, according to multiple media reports.

"It's disturbing to see such a high level of enthusiasm in the Russian Parliament for this draft law," said Agnes Callmard, executive director of Article 19, in a January 25 news release from the organization. "The proposed law blatantly discriminates against LGBT people. It will deprive them of their fundamental right to freedom of expression and will prevent access to vital information for all people."

Article 19 is an organization focused on freedom of expression and speech and access to information based in the United Kingdom.

If the proposed legislation becomes law it will officially penalize LGBT individuals and supporters in all 83 regions in Russia.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but homophobia remains strong throughout the nation.

The bill will have to undergo two more readings before being sent to President Vladimir Putin for his signature.

Putin's party, the United Russia party, holds a majority in the Duma and is pushing the bill through the federal legislature.

The second reading is anticipated to take place sometime this spring, Yelena Mizulina, the head of the Committee for Family Matters, told reporters. The final passage of the bill could potentially happen in the fall.

In the meantime, proposals for changes to the bill will be accepted for consideration until May 25.

One of the issues with the bill is that it doesn't have a precise definition of the concept of "propaganda of homosexuality" and that the way the law currently stands it could be "interpreted very loosely," said David Diaz-Jogeix, deputy director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Program.

The representatives of the Duma's Committee for Family Affairs have proposed defining "homosexual propaganda" as public events organized by LGBT individuals and media programs depicting LGBTs in a positive light during times when children would be watching TV as some of the acts that could be punishable, according to Mizulina.

'Gay gag' law spreads

Duma legislators took up the bill the day after the Kaliningrad Oblast region became the 10th area to pass an "anti-gay gag" law on January 24. Similar laws have been adopted and enforced by regions such as Arkhangelsk, Kostroma, Ryazan, and St. Petersburg.

The law will impose fines from $100 up to an estimated $33,000 for speaking about or supporting LGBT individuals and public gatherings promoting homosexuality.

The bill only needs the signature of Governor Nikolay Tsukanov to become law in Kaliningrad Oblast. A unique aspect of this bill is that it not only prohibits LGBT materials for minors, but also adults, noted LGBT activists.

Igor Kochetkov, chair of LGBT Networks, pondered the purpose for the bill.

"Either because of being stupid or because of amazing honesty Kaliningrad deputies managed to uncover the real intentions of authors and inspirators of the law on 'propagandas of homosexualism (sic),'" said Kochetkov, comparing the bill to similar laws. "The protection of children is used to cover the real wish – to shut up everyone who thinks or speak out the opinions different from the official ones."

Dmitry Gudkov, deputy of Just Russia, agreed, accusing the government of distracting people from "more important topics."

He pointed to a bill that passed a first reading in the Duma the previous week addressing "giving regions the option not to hold gubernatorial elections," as an example.

The laws have raised questions among advocates. Last November, the U.N. Human Rights Committee found that the application of a similar law in the Ryazan region violated the right of freedom of expression in its ruling in Fedodova v. Russia.

Last April, a St. Petersburg judge dropped LGBT propaganda charges against Sergey Kondrashov, an ally protesting the law. The judge cited a lack of evidence and protocols in the absence of the charge in her final decision.

These victories haven't halted federal legislatures from attempting to quash an entire community from speaking out. Russian LGBT activists and supporters are equally determined not to be silenced.

Clashes between LGBT and anti-gay protesters across Russia happened for a week leading up to the Duma's vote.

Russian LGBT activists expressed concern about an increase of violence against community members due to the anti-homosexual propaganda bill.

Up to an estimated 40 individuals on both sides of the conflict were arrested and others were treated at hospitals for injuries sustained during the protests, according to multiple media reports.

Global alarm

The vote and protests have caused alarm among international LGBT and human rights experts and government leaders.

"We are deeply concerned by this draft legislation in Russia that severely restricts freedom of expression and assembly for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and indeed for all Russians," said U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, during a January 25 press briefing.

Nuland pointed out that outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has continuously expressed her concern about the situation for more than a year to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"You know how strongly we feel about LGBT rights around the world, how strongly the secretary of state personally feels, that nobody should be discriminated against for who they love," Nuland said.

Some human rights activists fear that if passed the bill will silence more than LGBT individuals and their supporters.

Callmard said in a statement that the law wasn't simply about Pride festivals and queer films and other media, the "proposed law will also prevent access to information about health services and education, and impact LGBT youth in particular."

Kochetkov indicated to Deutsche Welle, a German news source, that since the ordinances have become law in certain regions there has been an increase of young people turning to the LGBT Network for assistance.

"Gay teenagers are isolated in their schools," Kochetkov said. "There are many cases of suicide." A national law would "legalize a witch hunt" and only make the situation worse, he told the news source.

In an attempt to raise awareness and gain support Russian LGBT activists recently launched a photo-campaign against the federal homosexual propaganda bill. Some U.S. LGBT activists have joined the campaign.

September 16, 2012

Libyan authorities arrested at least 50 suspects in connection with the killing of the US ambassador and three others last week, Libya's parliament chief said Sunday, according to AFP.

US ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens and three other Americans died after the gunmen attacked the US consulate and a safe house refuge in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday night. The attackers were part of a mob blaming America for a film they said insulted the Prophet Mohammad.

Mohammed al-Megaryef, president of the Libyan National Congress said a few of the attackers were foreigners, who entered Libya from countries including Mali and Algiera, AFP reported.

"The others are affiliates and maybe sympathizers," AFP, quoted Megaryef as saying.

Meanwhile, a small group of protestors burned a US flag outside the US Embassy in Turkey's capital Ankara on Sunday in protest against the film , while several dozen others chanted slogans against US policy in Syria.

The protesters from two separate groups, one an Islamist organization and the other a workers' party, carried banners including one which read "Murderer America! Get out of Turkey!"

Riot police backed by water cannon blocked the road outside the embassy, keeping the protesters around 100 meters from its walls, and the group dispersed in less than an hour.

Fury about the amateurish film of obscure origin tore across the Middle East after weekly prayers on Friday with protesters attacking US embassies and burning American flags. The violence largely subsided on Saturday but the Pentagon has bolstered security at its missions in the region.

Turkey's ruling AK Party, in power for the past decade, has Islamist roots but the country has a strong secular tradition and protests against the United States have been peaceful and on a far smaller scale than in other parts of the Middle East.

Sunday's protest coincided with a visit to Turkey by General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is expected to discuss the crisis in neighboring Syria and Turkey's domestic security with his Turkish counterparts.

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